The present invention generally relates to a pot holder and more particularly, to a pot holder which substantially prevents a user from being burned while remaining relatively pliable and soft.
Pot holders are commonly employed to permit a user to lift and hold heated cooking implements (e.g., pot handles, baking sheets, or lid knobs) without being burned. Conventional pot holders are generally comprised of a layer of insulating material (e.g., cotton batting) disposed between two layers of fabric which are sewn or otherwise coupled together to form a relatively thick insulated pad. These pot holders are also commonly xe2x80x9cquiltedxe2x80x9d or sewn in a manner to form a plurality of rectangular internal chambers to prevent the insulating material from clumping or moving around within the outer layers.
Additionally, pot holders normally include a border or edge member which is attached around the outer periphery of the layers in order to retain the insulating material between the layers of fabric.
While these current pot holders do prevent a user from coming into direct contact with heated cooking utensils, they do have several drawbacks. For example and without limitation, the quilted pattern only provides a nominal number of directions in which the creases or bend points formed by the internal chambers which permit the pot holder to relatively easily fold or bend about the cooking implement. These rectangular or rhomboid chambers undesirably only provide these creases bi-directionally (i.e., in the two directions of the sides of the internal chambers) and do not account for the various angles a user may attempt to utilize the pot holder.
Additionally, conventional pot holders have numerous visible lines of stitching across their surfaces (in order to form the internal chambers). These lines can undesirably reduce the aesthetic appeal of the potholder. This is particularly true if the exterior of the fabric depicts a certain design or picture.
Furthermore, the addition of a border around the exterior edge of quilted pot holders adds an amount of stiffness that increases the amount of force a user must exert in order to grasp and hold a utensil. This additional stiffness undesirably reduces the tactile sensitivity or xe2x80x9cfeelxe2x80x9d perceptible to a user. This reduction in feel could be potentially dangerous when grasping a heated cooking implement (e.g., a pot containing boiling water).
Lastly, stitching or sewing the creases which form the internal chambers of conventional pot holders reduces the thickness of the potholder in the immediate area around the crease. This reduced thickness undesirably decreases the amount of or compresses the insulation which is beneath the sewn area. This results in areas of reduced thermal insulation that increase the chance of a user being burned through the pot holder.
There is therefore a need for a new and improved pot holder which overcomes at least some of the previously delineated drawbacks of prior pot holders, which provides an effective and safe means to grasp heated cooking implements, and which can be used in a substantially omni-directional manner to grasp heated cooking implements.
It is a first advantage of the present invention to provide a pot holder which obviates the need to provide an exterior border by disposing the stitching along the outer-most edge of the pot holder.
It is a second advantage of the present invention to provide a pot holder which reduces the amount of visible stitching along the outer edges of the pot holder.
It is a third advantage of the present invention to provide a pot holder which permits an individual to employ the pot holder in substantially any direction while reducing the amount of stitching along the visible surfaces of the pot holder.
It is a fourth advantage of the present invention to provide a pot holder which reduces the possibility of a user being burned through the pot holder.